Tuesday, March 3, 2015

FX's long-running animated series Archer has had a history of Rush sightings throughout its run. Most have taken place in the form of a Rush album-themed mural appearing on the side of Krieger's van (one of the main characters in the show).

On the episode titled "The Kanes" (season 6, episode 8), which aired last week, Krieger's van received the debut album treatment with "Rush" replaced simply by the word "Van".

This marks the fifth such van mural that has appeared on the show, dating all the way back to 2011. The four previous van motifs included:

Rush The Lady Gone Electric is a live radio broadcast recording from a December 1974 appearance at the Electric Lady Studios in New York City. From the Amazon.Co.Uk listing:

Recorded at the Electric Ladyland [sic] Studios in New York City, in December 1974 in preparation for their first US tour, this sublime Rush performance was given in front of an audience of 8-12 people in the small studio, and thus provides a fine example of this remarkable band s early live sound. This was also the earliest recording made with Neil Peart on drums, Peart having replaced their former skins-man John Rutsy, a few months before this show. They perform material from their first album and new songs from the soon to be released Fly by Night LP. The show was undertaken to provide a live broadcast for FM Radio, and was transmitted across the airwaves prior to the release of Fly by Night. Neil had only been with the band for a few months at this point, but the playing is tight and precise.

The FBN songs are still coming together, so some, notably Best I Can, contain some alternate lyrics. The structure of Fly by Night is different, with the guitar solo coming after the vocal bridge and a completely different ending. We get a rare treat in Working Man, when Alex delivers a guitar solo outside of the normal structure of the song. Bad Boy is introduced as a Beatles song, although it was originally written and performed by Larry Williams. It s amusing to hear the polite clapping of what sounds like about five or ten folks in the studio. Geddy s soft-spoken comments in between songs are a sharp contrast to the very hard-edged performance. Apparently, several mics were set up around the studio, with only a very basic soundboard feed. The result is a very well-mixed sound - so much so, in places it sounds as though it s lifted direct from the first album. The three bonus cuts included are from the group s first US television performance on the legendary Don Kirshner Rock Show programme in October 74.

1. Finding My Way
2. Best I Can
3. In the Mood
4. Anthem
5. Need Some Love
6. Fly by Night
7. Here Again
8. Bad Boy
9. Working Man
10. Best I Can [Bonus]
11. In the Mood [Bonus]
12. Finding My Way [Bonus]

The CD is scheduled for an April 13th release in Europe and is expected to be released soon in North America.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Though Rush has only performed their a total of six times over their decades spanning career, Massey Hall in Toronto remains one of the band's most cherished venues. It was in this historic venue where Rush performed a consecutive three-night stand back in June of 1976 that was recorded and later released as their first live album All The World's a Stage.

Now, as the venue which was built back in 1894 prepares to undergo an extensive seven-year, $135-million revitalization, Geddy Lee takes time to reflect back on the meaning of the venue to Rush and Toronto.

Rush frontman Geddy Lee's memory of attending his first show at Toronto's Massey Hall remains spring-water clear -- and what stands out is the sound quality that was swamp-water muddled.

It was June 5, 1968, and a then 22-year-old Lee was desperate to see British rock royalty Cream, even though his friends weren't.

"I couldn't get anyone to go see Cream with me," Lee told The Canadian Press in one of Massey's spartan dressing rooms Monday.

"I said: 'Screw you all, I'm going by myself.' I sat in the balcony. And I don't think their PA system had arrived because they played onstage and Jack Bruce was singing through the Massey Hall crappy little announcement system.

"It was really strange," he added, laughing.

Such whimsical glitches may become less common as the venerable Massey Hall -- a piece of Toronto iconography since it was built back in 1894 -- undergoes a seven-year, $135-million revitalization.

"Phase one" of that operation began this week, with improvements including a first-ever loading dock, a modernized back of house, a backstage space for artists, and technical tweaks.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Back in December we first announced that Rush and Universal Music Enterprises (formerly Mercury Records) were going to re-release all of Rush's Mercury-era records on vinyl. To date, both Fly By Night and Caress of Steel have been released with 2112 scheduled to be released on March 17th. To help celebrate the re-release of the pivotal album in the band's career, the vinyl edition of 2112 will feature a special hologram image.

From the Rush announcement:

As the multi-platinum selling, Canadian Prog-Rock legends Rush prepare for their 2015 world tour in celebration of their 40th anniversary, Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) continues its 12 Months of Rush celebrations with the release of a special vinyl Hologram Edition reissue of the band’s epic, landmark release 2112 on March 17, 2015. This special edition will also come with a free download card for the high resolution Digital Audio version.

Pressed on high fidelity 200gram vinyl, this unique Hologram Edition showcases a custom, hand-drawn hologram of the “Red Star of the Federation” in the album’s dead wax runout of side two. To reveal the spinning hologram, fans can use any focused source of light, such as the LED flashlight on a smartphone, directly above the turntable while playing.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The organizers of the the North American Rush Convention, dubbed RushCon, have just announced the details for RushCon 15:

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Rush, and in conjunction with the 34-city R40 LIVE Tour, RushCon is excited to announce RushCon 15 will be held twice, in two locations, a Mini-Con in Toronto, and for the first-time ever in Los Angeles.

We are so grateful for the fans who have made the trip up to the Great White North every year. But this year, we wanted to add something different. We want RushCon to be accessible to everyone. If this is Rush's last big tour, we want it to go out with a bang and to celebrate big. So we are having two conventions this summer.

Where better to celebrate the amazing legacy of our favorite band, than with your friends at RushCon?

TORONTO MINI-CON, JUNE 19 - 20
Can’t make it to LA? Fear not, for we couldn’t leave out the hometown show! We will be having a “mini-RushCon” June 19 - 20 in Toronto to cheer the boys on. In addition to a pre-party before the Friday show at the Air Canada Centre, other events will be announced in the coming weeks.

LOS ANGELES, JULY 31 - AUGUST 2
Join us for three days of Rush-related events, including transportation to and from the concert at the Forum on Saturday, August 1.

Monday, February 16, 2015

The Niagara music scene of the late 1960's and early 1970's was the subject behind a 2009 documentary by filmmaker Paul Miil. At the time he began working on the documentary, which was titled The Big Story of Small Potatoes, Miil intended on focusing much of the film on Neil's early career, however the project soon expanded to other area musicians.

Today, Miil has just released a 49-minute Peart-centric video which was culled from the original documentary and includes additional never-before-seen interviews with various musicians and roadies that knew Neil back in the day including members of Neil's pre-Rush bands including The Majority, Hush and J.R. Flood:

Neil Peart's rudimentary years as chronicled by prior bandmates and contemporary drummers. This film answers the age old question, "How do you know if the stage is level?"

The video can be viewed on YouTube at this LINK for via the embedded viewer below.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Neil Peart has just posted the latest edition of his "News, Weather, and Sports" blog entry on his website. This entry is the continuation of his last entry from December 2014 where he talked about his experience of competing in the "24 Hours of LeMons", an endurance racing series for budget-minded enthusiasts that took place in Tooele, Utah.

From his entry:

The Bangers ’n’ Mash racing team’s first attempt at the 24 Hours of LeMons, in June 2014, had been . . . oxymoronic. A triumphant disaster. A victorious failure. A shining disappointment. A tarnished joy.

Still, ever hopeful, we signed up for a race in September, at Thunderhill Raceway in Northern California. This time we were hoping for better. Maybe just the good part—the triumph, victory, and shining joy. Maybe just keep the car running and finish the race.

But alas, the summer of 2014 swept chief enabler and Lemon-Slug preparer Inspector Clouseau into a whirlwind of pressure and worry. As mentioned in “Bamm Bamm and the Lemon Slug,” Clouseau’s teammates lived far away from his home garage in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Except for an occasional appearance by Wrong Way, a deputy district attorney from across the Bay, we were not available to help with the car.

Monday, February 9, 2015

It was last April when we first reported the news about a new documentary that focused on Le Studio, the recording studio home to several Rush albums including Moving Pictures. Episode One of the documentary was published at that time and now Episode Two is finally available. A little about the history of the documentary:

Nestled in the Laurentian Mountains in the town of Morin Heights, Quebec lies Le Studio; a recording studio built in 1974 by André Perry and Yaël Brandeis. For Rush fans, it has become a mecca of sorts given its rich history. Rush called the studio home for the recording of eight of their albums, including Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures. Other international artists including Nazareth, The Police, Sting, Cat Stevens, The Bee Gees, David Bowie, Keith Richards, April Wine, Kim Mitchell and Bryan Adams have also recorded albums there.

However despite all of its rich history, the recording studio closed its doors in the mid-2000's and has since been virtually abandoned, left to decay in the harsh Canadian elements.

A group of Rush fans were granted access to the studio back in 2011 where they photographed and filmed the building in its then current state. Through some extensive research on the history of Le Studio, the first part in an on-going documentary titled Temple of Sound is now available online.

It not only covers Rush's extensive involvement with the studio, but also provides a fantastic, in-depth history of Le Studio and the bands who have recorded there.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Update: Click HERE to watch the episode.Eddie Trunk has just announced that Geddy Lee will be appearing on the upcoming season premiere of That Metal Show which airs on February 21st. From Eddie' announcement:

Extremely psyched to welcome Geddy Lee of Rush for the hour as our guest on the first new episode of That Metal Show in almost a year! I really wanted someone huge for our debut and once again the Rush camp stepped up. Back in season 1 we had Geddy and Alex on and it was a great solid they did me at the time. You see TMS was in it’s infancy and nobody knew what was going to happen with the show. Ged & Alex flew down from Toronto to come on when we were just a 30 minute show not many had yet seen. Now 5 years and about 125 episodes later Geddy is back with us!

The official press release for the September release of Clockwork Lives, the follow-up to the novelization of Rush's Clockwork Angels 2012 album, was released yesterday by ECW Press yesterday. In additional to the press release, author Kevin J. Anderson also released a teaser sample of Chapter 1 of the novel on his blog:

As a blue alchemical glow illuminated the rails, the steamliner came into Lugtown on its weekly run from parts unknown toward Crown City, the heart of the land of Albion. The chain of cargo cars and passenger gondolas were suspended by multicolored balloon sacks, each marked with the iconic honeybee symbol of the loving Watchmaker.

The steamliner touched down, steel wheels striking the rails outside of town and decelerating with gouts of blue-tinted steam and showers of sparks. As the steam vents hissed, lowering pressure inside the coldfire boiler chambers, the pilot damped his engines and let the steamliner simmer in place. He would park at Lugtown for the better part of a day to refill water tanks and take on cargo.

Restless passengers disembarked, men wearing frock coats and top hats or bowlers. The women wore voluminous dresses, gloves, button-up black boots; some even carried parasols as they accompanied their gentlemen. They chose such finery for the journey because they wanted to be presentable just in case the Watchmaker, or at least some of his Regulators, caught a glimpse of them when they disembarked at the Mainspring Hub.

Clockwork Lives is now scheduled for release on September 15th, 2015 and can pre-ordered via Amazon. Cover art for the novel has yet to be released but we are told that it should be available "soon".

Sunday, February 1, 2015

When the members of Rush were preparing the details of their upcoming R40 tour, Neil Peart spent a few hours with journalist Vinay Menon where he discussed topics centering around touring and his own fame from being a member of Rush.

“Live shows were always religion for us,” says Peart, sipping his double Macallan. “We never played a show — whether it was in front of 15 people or 15,000 — where it wasn’t everything we had that night.”

Later, Peart discusses his reluctance at being in the limelight of fame:

It’s no secret, at least to Rush fans, that Peart may be the most reluctant rock star in the galaxy. His contempt for the shallow trappings of celebrity — “Even as a kid, I never wanted to be famous; I wanted to be good” — could form the curriculum for an undergrad psychology class. He doesn’t do meet-and-greets with fans. He gets squirmy in the face of adoration. He doesn’t even travel with the band on tour, preferring instead to mount his purring BMW R1100GS and see “the real world” one dusty back road at a time.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) today announced Ray Danniels as the recipient of the 2015 Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award, that recognizes individuals who have made an impact on the Canadian music industry. Danniels will be honoured at the 2015 JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards on Saturday, March 14 in Hamilton, Ontario as part of JUNO Week festivities.

Danniels had this to say about the recognition:

“I am grateful to be recognized by my peers for doing something I’ve loved and been passionate about since I was a teenager,” said Ray Danniels. “I share this honour with those that have been with me since the beginning – the members of Rush – Geddy, Alex and Neil.”

SiriusXM has just announced that legendary DJ Jim Ladd will be interviewing Neil Peart on that satellite radio provider's Deep Tracks station (Channel #27). The interview will take place on Tuesday, February 3rd at 9pm EST.

According to the announcement, which are taking place on-air, the topic of conversation will center around Neil's new book Far and Near: On Days Like These as well as the upcoming R40 Live: 40th Anniversary tour.

Update: The Deep Tracks Facebook Page just posted this about the interview:

Motorcycle enthusiast... author... drummer... lyricist... NEIL PEART of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee RUSH joins Jim Ladd, high in the Hollywood Hills, for an exclusive one-on-one discussion. Topics will range from Neil's latest book: 'Far and Near: On Days Like These' to the music that influences him to the recently-announced Rush R40 tour celebrating 40 years! ‪#‎R40Tour‬

Update (02/22/2015): You can now watch the entire episode via this LINK.Geddy Lee will be featured in the premiere episode of VH1 Classic's new series Rock Icons. From the announcement:

From Banger Films, the people that brought you the Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage documentary and the TV show Metal Evolutions, comes an all-new docu-series profiling the biggest icons in hard rock, heavy metal and classic rock. Rock Icons premieres Saturday February 21st at 10/9C, immediately following the That Metal Show‘s season 14 kick-off, and takes you backstage with in-depth, intimate portraits revealing who these rock stars really are. Each 30-minute episode is jam-packed with exclusive interviews and never-before-seen footage with featured artists and the key people who helped shape their careers.

The series premiere goes beyond the limelight with Geddy Lee, lead singer and bassist extraordinaire of Canadian progressive hard rock legends Rush. Find out how his remarkable musical talent and drive was influenced by the early passing of his father and why he is determined to live every bit of his life to the fullest.

As indicated above, the premiere episode with Geddy will air on Saturday February 21st at 10pm EST.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

After Rush announced their R40 tour last week, news and pictures of Neil Peart's new custom kit for the tour began to surface. In fact on the same day that Rush announced the tour, the new R40 kit was on display at the 2015 NAMM Show (National Association of Music Merchants) in Los Angeles.

Today DW Drums, whom manufactured the R40 kit for Neil, released a video of the Professor discussing the kit in detail. One incredibly interesting note is that the entire kit was made from a single salvaged log. The log was obtained from Romania near the Carpathian Mountains. The log is estimated to have been submerged in a river near the mountains for 500 years and the total age of the log is 1,500 years. Neil is clearly excited regarding the original of the wood used for his new kit.

He also discusses the intricate manufacturing process behind each shell and how each individual Rush logo that appears on each piece was created. While the R40 kit is visually similar in style to the R30 kit Neil used during the band's 30th Anniversary tour back in 2004, the new kit is actually quite different in substance.

The video can be viewed directly at this LINK or via the embedded viewer below:

In related news, a replica of the R40 snare is now available for sale for $1,499.55 via All Pro Percussion:

In celebration of Rush's 40th Anniversary Tour, Drum Workshop, Inc (DW Drums) is releasing the Neil Peart R40 snare drum. Just like Neil's R40 touring kit, this DW Icon series snare features exotic inlay artwork from previous Rush albums and gold plated hardware. Each snare includes DW's Mag Throw-Off with 3 position butt plate and a DW Deluxe Snare Drum Bag. A limited number of 250 R40 Icon snares will be produced.

The 6.5"x14", 13-ply VLT Oak shell is sealed in clear, high-gloss lacquer and complemented by gold- plated hardware. A signed-and-numbered certificate of authenticity and deluxe carrying bag will accompany each drum and a percentage of the proceeds will benefit Neil's charity of choice.

Monday, January 26, 2015

Alex Lifeson stopped by Toronto's Q107 this morning to chat with Derringer about all things rock n’ roll, including the upcoming R40 LIVE tour kicking off this May.

During the 20-minute conversation, Alex discussed a lot of his personal early family history, the beginnings of Rush and more. When it came time to chat about the upcoming R40 tour, the topic of this possibly being Rush's final tour came up. Alex indicated that, after the last tour, the band was exhausted and they wanted to reconnect with their family. Since that time, they've really enjoyed being home and doing things they haven't been able to do for 'decades'. He stated that Geddy is ready to tour now while Alex and obviously Neil are slowly coming around.

Ultimately, however, Alex didn't confirm or deny that this was, in fact, Rush's final tour. Regarding Rush skipping by Cleveland this time around, Alex indicated that the band is still trying to 'massage' a couple of things indicating that a Cleveland stop may still happen (as well as possibly a few more dates).

To listen to the entire interview, click HERE or use the embedded viewer below.

For Rush Fan Pre-sale, click HERE - no password required. Good luck, all!Update: VIP Pricing, password and info has now been released. Please see the bottom of this post for all the details.Update: Neil Peart's new R40 Drum Kit is now on display at NAMM. Check out a photo of it HERE and another one HERE.Update: Pre-sale in many locations begins tomorrow, January 23rd. For more information, please check Ticketmaster.The announcement every Rush fan has been waiting for has just been released. Rush is officially going back on tour in celebration of their 40th Anniversary! The tour will span 34 dates across North America.

Celebrating 40 years, Rush and Live Nation confirmed that the R40 LIVE Tour will visit 34 cities throughout North America this summer beginning May 8 in Tulsa, OK and finishing August 1 in Los Angeles, CA. These not to be missed concerts will highlight four decades of the band’s music. Tickets for the RUSH: R40 LIVE TOUR will go on sale starting January 30th in select markets at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com.

After 40 years together and 20 gold and platinum studio albums – Rush is ready to celebrate with the most loyal fans in the world by embarking on their 21st tour, one which will most likely be their last major tour of this magnitude. Celebrate four decades of music with three incredible musicians – all in 1 night.

As they did during their Clockwork Angels tour, Rush is offering up special VIP packages for this tour:

Tickets for the RUSH: R40 LIVE TOUR will go on sale starting January 30 in select markets at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com. Citi® card members will have access to pre-sale tickets through Citi’s Private Pass® Program beginning January 27 in select markets. For complete presale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com. Exclusive Rush ticket packages are available, please visit vipnation.com for package details.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Back in August, during RushCon 14, Kevin J. Anderson, the author behind the novelization of Clockwork Angels, announced two new Rush related writing projects that he was involved with.

The first centered around an anthology of Rush-based stories written by "a gang of award-winning and bestselling authors" where Anderson announced he would be penning a novella called "2113". The second writing project would have him joining forces once again with Neil Peart in the creation of somewhat of a sequel to the Clockwork Angels novel titled Clockwork Lives.

Clockwork Lives is now scheduled for release on September 8th, 2015 and can pre-ordered via Amazon. From the Amazon listing:

Some lives can be summed up in a sentence or two. Other lives are epics.

In Clockwork Angels, #1 bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson and legendary Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart created a fabulous, adventurous steampunk world in a novel to accompany the smash Rush concept album of the same name. It was a world of airships and alchemy, clockwork carnivals, pirates, lost cities, a rigid Watchmaker who controlled every aspect of life, and his nemesis, the ruthless and violent Anarchist who wanted to destroy it all.

Anderson and Peart have returned to their colorful creation to explore the places and the characters that still have a hold on their imagination. Marinda Peake is a woman with a quiet, perfect life in a small village; she long ago gave up on her dreams and ambitions to take care of her ailing father, an alchemist and an inventor. When he dies, he gives Marinda a mysterious inheritance: a blank book that she must fill with other people’s stories — and ultimately her own.

Clockwork Lives is a steampunk Canterbury Tales, and much more, as Marinda strives to change her life from a mere “sentence or two” to a true epic.

Cover art for the new book isn't available yet but will likely be revealed by Anderson on his website soon.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

According to a press release from Bell Media, Rush are to be the recipients of the 2015 Allan Waters Humanitarian Award which recognizes outstanding Canadian artists whose contributions have positively enhanced the social fabric of Canada. Named after CHUM Ltd. founder Allan Waters, the award is made possible by funding from BCE-Bell Media Benefits.

"We are sincerely grateful to be recognized as this year's recipients of the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award. We are proud, honoured and humbled to be in the company of all Canadians who find it within their hearts to help those in need." - Rush

"We are proud to be recognizing Rush’s noble legacy with this award," said Allan Reid, President & CEO, CARAS/The JUNO Awards & MusiCounts. "The group’s dedication to countless charities and organizations over the course of their career is truly remarkable. Their tenacity and spirit serves as an inspiration to all of us, and we salute them for all of their exceptional work."

"Bell Media congratulates Rush on being honoured with this year’s Allan Waters Humanitarian Award," said Phil King, President, CTV, Sports, and Entertainment Programming. "As true rock icons, Rush embodies Canada’s innate spirit of compassion. Their generous support of and commitment to numerous worthy causes over their prolific career make them truly worthy of this prestigious award."

The award will be presented to Rush at the 2015 JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards on March 14, 2015 in Hamilton, Ontario.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Throughout this week, NPR Music "Morning Edition" is talking about drums and drummers. Today, their focus is Neil Peart and his "...early fascination with Gene Krupa and the demanding requirements of his playing..."

When Rush's Neil Peart listens to "My Generation" by The Who, he doesn't hear the lyric or the harmony. His mind is focused on a single thing: the drums.

"I was driving down the length of California the other day with classic rock on and they played 'My Generation,'" Peart says. "I just kind of tuned into the Keith Moon snare sound and his figures and all that. Of course, I know every beat of it."

At 62, Peart has lived through and listened to a substantial slice of the history of modern drumming. He says he first wanted to become a drummer when he saw The Gene Krupa Story.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Update (02/13/2015): The SpeakEasy website has now listed airing dates/times and stations for the Geddy Lee interview. Click HERE to view them.Back in November we reported that Geddy Lee visited New York City where he taped a special episode of Speakeasy with his friend and author, Michael Chabon.

‘Speakeasy,’ is a new weekly series featuring in-depth interviews with musicians. The series debuted on public television stations earlier this month. Its fifth episode, which will premiere on January 29th, will include the November-taped interview with Geddy Lee.

A trailer of the episode is available at this LINK or can be viewed via the embedded player below.

Of the interview, Geddy Lee had this to say:

"75 minutes flew by talking to one of my favorite writers and a truly awesome person"

Please check your local listings for the exact time and PBS channel that will air Speakeasy or click HERE for a listing of stations carrying the show.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

The January 2015 issue of Classic Rock Presents: PROG Magazine, which is on sale now in the UK, includes numerous features and articles on Rush including a Rush-themed cover. Look for a complete transcription of the magazine to be included in the Articles section of the main site soon.

In connection with the release of the issue, PROG has just released a lengthy article titled R40: Celebrating 40 Years of Rush. The article talks with 40 famous Rush fans who discuss the band and pick their favourite Rush songs.

From the article:

TERRY BROWN, PRODUCER
“The Twilight Zone is a little gem with a very strong lead guitar motif from Alex, Ged’s verse vocals up in the stratosphere and then the chorus slipping into an eerie flanged vocal that is in the ‘zone’. This is all held together by Neil’s very concise, driving percussion closing with the airy guitar solo which makes this one of my favourite Rush tunes.”

TAYLOR HAWKINS
“The live version of A Passage To Bangkok off Exit… Stage Left is probably my favourite Rush moment of all time. I like this more than the album version; the feel is a bit funkier and some of the drumming is absolutely not of this world. Exit… Stage Left is probably my favourite Rush record, and this is definitely my favourite track from this record.”

JOE ELLIOTT, DEF LEPPARD
“I saw Rush play Xanadu live at their first ever UK gig. This was at the Sheffield City Hall back in 1977. It was the solitary new song they played on that tour, and as I already had the live album All The World’s A Stage, which is pretty much what they played, the only thing I wasn’t familiar with. But it stood out as an epic piece. It’s 11 minutes long and musically meandering from quiet to very loud all the way through… Amazing stuff.”

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Despite recent favorable comments from both Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson about a potential Rush tour in 2015, nothing has been formally announced. If anything, comments also made by Neil Peart suggest he's thoroughly enjoying his time off so, up until now, it seemed fairly certain that Rush would not tour any time soon (certainly not in the spring of 2015 as originally suggested).

Now, however, some leaked unconfirmed tour dates has opened up the speculation game. Yesterday, two 2015 tour dates appeared - and then disappeared - from various concert ticket sites including Ticketmaster. The dates in question were a June 23rd show at the TD Garden in Boston and a June 29th show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. I've also heard from a very reliable source that the band is schedule to perform at the Scottrade Center in St.Louis sometime in June.

Granted, this is all very sketchy information and I was prepared to disregard it until something a little more concrete was made available. That seemingly has happened thanks to a tweet from none other than Lorne Wheaton (Neil Peart's drum tech). In a tweet today, Lorne stated the following:

Hope everyone had a great Holiday season, and WILL have a safe & Happy New Year!! See u all in the new year...oops, did I just say that?

Could Lorne be (once again) hinting at a 2015 tour? It is certainly looking more promising.

If the June dates are accurate, one would surmise that the band would come out with a formal announcement soon. Looking back at the Clockwork Angels tour, the band officially announced that tour in mid-April - or about five months before opening night in September of 2012. Given that time frame, the announcement of the 2015 tour, if it were to start in June, is a just about due.

This is all speculation, everyone. Hopefully we'll have some confirmation very soon. Perhaps on January 1st which marks the 35th anniversary of the release of Permanent Waves. I couldn't think of a better way to get 2015 off to good start.

We'll have more news if and when it becomes available.

I'd also like to take this time to wish every a happy, safe and prosperous 2015. Happy New Year!

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